


Guardian Sister

by Makira820



Series: Cupboard Full of Pandas [4]
Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: F/M, Gen, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:00:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25635442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Makira820/pseuds/Makira820
Summary: Tae Niijima is tasked with making sure her little brother gets to school. And she will do exactly that.
Relationships: Amamiya Ren/Niijima Makoto, Kurusu Akira/Niijima Makoto, Niijima Makoto/Persona 5 Protagonist
Series: Cupboard Full of Pandas [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1561558
Comments: 1
Kudos: 39





	Guardian Sister

_April 2041_

"How is it _THIS_ unruly?!"

"Mom, I'm going to be late..."

"Don't worry, I'll drive you. We have plenty of time, sweetie. Now hold still…"

Makoto feverishly brushed through her son's hair, as she had been doing after breakfast nearly 30 minutes ago. She wanted to make sure he was well groomed for his first day of junior high. 

At 12-years-old, Soji was simply the cutest little boy on the face of the earth. His eyes matched his mother, aunt and sister's, leaving his father as the only member of the family without the trademark red eyes. He did, however, inherit his father's naturally messy hair, albeit in a shade of brown more-so resembling his mother's. And that is what was dangerously close to making him late for school this morning.

"Are you done yet???" jeered a voice from down the hall.

Tae, Soji's older sister of four years, impatiently stood outside the bathroom door. She was dressed in her Shujin uniform, her bag on her arm and phone in her hand as she checked the time. Her short, ash-brown hair fell in front of her eyes before being blown out of the way with an irritated puff of air. Her eyes rolled as soon as she saw that it was their _mother_ holding them up.

"Tae?" Makoto was surprised to see her. "What are you still doing here? You're going to be late!"

"Dad said if I took Soji to school, he'd buy me a mini fridge for my room," her daughter explained.

Makoto stopped brushing Soji's hair and gave Tae a skeptic look. She then poked her head out into the hallway. "Aaakiraaaa?"

He knew the voice—the kind that said someone was in trouble and that someone was likely him. He immediately turned off the kitchen sink. "Yes dear?" he asked as he promptly joined his family in their hallway/bathroom venue.

"Did you tell Tae you would buy her a mini fridge if she took Soji to school?" 

" _No,_ I did not. I said I would _think_ about getting her a mini fridge _if_ she walked Soji to school _AND_ washed the dishes more often," he said before looking at Tae and adding "...or at all."

See, _now_ Makoto was all for it. "Ohhh, that's a great idea, honey!" she said as her lips met her husband's in a romantic display specifically meant to gross out their daughter. He returned to the kitchen with a smirk on his face as Tae stifled a gag.

"Alright fine, I'll do the stupid dishes like it's the 20th century. Can we go now?" Tae grabbed Soji by the shoulder and dragged him from his bathroom encampment. He was half asleep at this point from being groomed by his mother for nearly half an hour, so he offered little resistance. They put on their shoes by the door and soon after they were on their way.

"Be careful!" Makoto yelled before the door had completely shut behind them.

The apartment was suddenly so much quieter without her babies present. So began the less eventful process of her own morning routine. It made her a bit sad really. She might have considered having a third child if it weren't for her other baby, her _big_ baby. The one who was currently hugging her from behind and kissing her neck. It was almost as if Akira read her mind with how quick he was to comfort her.

"I suppose...Soji _is_ getting to be a little too old for his mother to take him to school…" she admitted to her husband.

Akira nestled his cheek beside her's. "Don't worry. She may be a handful herself, but Tae will look after him. She's her mother's daughter, after all."

* * *

The train ride went quickly enough, though they might still have to take a shortcut through a back alley or two. Luckily, Tae had a good mental map of the area from the times their father agreed to let her come with him on some of his particularly snoopy investigations. If only she had time to stop and get some ice cream with her brother, not that anywhere would be open at this hour.

"So uh, what's the situation with your hair?" Tae asked as they were walking.

"Mom said she wanted me to feel confident in both my mind and body today," Soji answered.

"Yeah, well, looks to me like mom doesn't want you getting a girlfriend."

" _Girlfriend?_ " Soji asked, flustered at the mere mention of the fairer sex.

Tae laughed at how adorably naive her little brother was on the topic of girls. She figured the parental controls on his PC and phone were actually doing the job for him. Certainly didn't do jack to keep her from tainting her own young mind.

"Yeah bro, y'know, _girls,_ " Tae teased. "Mom doesn't want any woman besides her cuddling with you so she sabotaged your hair to make you look like you have a rock collection," she added as she rummaged through her bag.

"But...I _do_ have a rock collection," Soji corrected her.

"...Yeah, maybe wait on telling your future girlfriend that until one of those stones is on her finger?" Tae pulled out a hair brush and started walking behind Soji. "Here, just let me fix your hair."

Thirty minutes in the bathroom undone in thirty seconds of walking. The hair brush was barely even used. Most of the damage was done by Tae's hand ruffling up his hair back to it's bedhead state. The result? He looked like a smaller, brown-haired version of their dad. And it got him a beautiful wife, cute son and _gorgeous_ daughter, so Tae thought it was an overall improvement.

Soji would have argued more, but instead just walked a little slower. Not for his amateur hairdresser sister's sake, but for his own. For walking ahead of them were three familiar boys: a short, round one to the left, a skinny one with no sense of hygiene to the right, and a tall boy who seemed muscular for his age in the middle. He'd overhead the very same boys laughing at him when he went shopping for new school supplies with his mother last week. All three wore the same uniform as Soji.

"Sis…can we take a different route?" Soji asked as he came to a full stop.

"What? No, this is the quickest way to school. Why do you ask?"

Before he could answer, the skinny boy turned around and cackled as he noticed Soji. "Heeeeyyyy, isn't that the mama's boy we saw in Shibuya last week?"

The muscular boy turned around as well. "Oh yeaaah, that is him. Don't see his mama, though. Just some other babe."

"You wanna mess with 'em?" the round boy asked in a snotty tone. As if he needed to ask.

The boys turned around and started walking towards them as Soji came to a full stop. Tae knew Soji didn't have much of a social life, so when three boys she didn't recognize started approaching them, it raised a few questions.

"Are they...your friends?" Tae asked her brother. He didn't answer.

The boys surrounded them at the entrance to a back alley. Tae wouldn't have backed up as well if not for her increasing desire to keep herself in between Soji and these strangers. She suddenly didn't want them anywhere near her brother, whoever the hell they were.

"...You his babysitter or something?" asked the muscular boy, fed up with Tae's bodyguard act.

"I'm his older sister," Tae answered.

The three boys snorted in unison, soon to be followed by full blown laughter. Tae looked back at her brother to see a very pensive look on his face. Apparently that was the worst thing she could've said. She felt awful for embarrassing him further in front of them.

The skinniest boy took advantage of her distraction to slip by her imposed sister-barrier and get right up in Soji's face. As if his disregard for the school dress code wasn't evident enough that the kid was a slob, his distinct odor definitely drove it home. Soji was disgusted even before he opened his foul mouth.

"Yo, are _all_ the women in your family this bangin'?" he asked. "It's no wonder you wanna spend every second with 'em."

Tae scoffed at the boldness of this pint sized little shit. She stepped towards him, intent on suggesting that he and the other two boys leave before things escalate into a scenario that would no doubt get her grounded or arrested. Probably both knowing their mom. But just as she opened her mouth, the muscular boy took it upon himself to place _his_ hand on _her_ shoulder. Tae turned her head, shooting him a nasty glare. If he took his hand off her right this instant, that's all he would be getting.

"Take it easy, babe. We're all friends here. Ain't that right, mama's boy?" the muscular boy asked.

The skinny boy grabbed Soji by his hair and forced him to nod. Soji struggled against his grasp, quickly breaking free but losing his balance in the process. He slipped backwards towards the brick wall, an audible thud reaching Tae's ears as her heart skipped a beat.

"Oof, looks like little bro gave himself an ouchie. Maybe you should give him a kiss-OWWWAHHH, FUCK!"

Tae grabbed the muscular boy's hand and turned it all the way around until she heard something pop. She wasn't sure what, but she didn't care. She turned to face the skinny boy without releasing her grip. He rushed to aid his friend in his predicament, not knowing what to do exactly before settling on a very amateur kick. Tae guided the muscular boy around her with ease, using him to shield her from the kick that likely didn't even hurt that much. Pity. She used the muscular boy's lack of balance to push him over on top of the skinny one. They landed in the garbage where they belong.

It was then that Tae remembered there was a third boy with them. She peered over her shoulder towards the entrance to the alleyway. No one. The fat one had apparently abandoned his friends as soon as he saw what wuss the strongest of them was. At least one of them had a functioning brain. The other two boys scrambled to their feet. They were less wise, as they opted for round two instead fleeing themselves.

For whatever reason, the skinny boy went for another kick. Tae would have laughed if she weren't so pissed. She stepped to the side as his kick met nothing but air. Grabbing the back of his raised ankle, she raised it even further until he had no choice but to fall flat on his back.

That left only the muscular boy. He stood a good distance from her, holding his wrist up like a wounded mutt. A mixture of rage and embarrassment was spelled out clearly in his red face. With a yell, he ran towards Tae with his uninjured arm wound up. With his build, a punch from him might actually hurt. If it hit, that is.

Tae merely tilted her head at the last second. She grabbed hold of his wrist and upper arm as she positioned herself perpendicular to him. It took slightly more effort than everything she'd done up to now, but with a tug of his arm, she flung his body up and over herself before he flopped down onto the pavement behind her. He let out an exaggerated groan of agony as he admitted defeat. This "fight" was over, and all without Tae throwing even a single punch.

Tae tilted his head with her shoe and looked down at him with scorn as she spoke. "If you or any of your piece of shit friends come near my brother ever again, I'm actually going to _try_ to hurt you next time. Nod if you understand."

The muscular boy sheepishly nodded beneath her shoe.

"Good," Tae said as she stepped aside. "Now get the hell out of my sight."

The muscular boy crawled to his feet, helping the skinny boy up as they limped away in a hurry. The fear of god and Niijima women now resided in both of them.

Once they were gone, Tae's mood changed completely as her concern was directly entirely at her brother. Soji sat up against the brick wall, rubbing the back of his head where it had been struck. Tae raced to her brother's side.

"Soji! Are you okay?!" she asked worriedly as she checked his head for any serious injuries. There wasn't any blood at least.

"I'm fine, sis."

Tae sighed in relief as she held him close. It was ironic really. She'd always given their mother lip for doting on Soji, but now here she was hugging her brother for no other reason than knowing he was safe. This image would definitely find it's way to their mother's phone home screen if it could.

"...Sis?" Soji asked, muffled by his sister's squeezing arms.

"Yeah?"

"We're late for school…" he mumbled as he held up his phone in front of his sister's face.

First period started about 15 minutes ago.

Tae's eyes went wide as it dawned on her. Wasting no time, she sprang to her feet and helped Soji up. Grabbing him by the wrist, the two broke into a light jog as they exited the alleyway and continued on their delayed journey to school.

_'Guess I'm not getting that minifridge…'_ Tae thought to herself as they ran.

**Author's Note:**

> Originally I was going to have either Makoto or Tae teach Soji how to do the Niijima glare, but it felt a little too anime-y lmao. Plus I wanted the main focus of the fic to be the lengths at which Tae is willing to go to protect her little brother. Hope you enjoyed!


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